Earn the Crown
by spencerjacks
Summary: After the Battle of Hogwarts Ron has been distant from everyone but most of all Hermione. There is still a lot unsaid between the two of them and its going to be a struggle to rebuild their friendship and perhaps more.
1. Two Months

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters nor am I making any profit from this. It all belongs to JK and that's how it should be.

A/N: This is the first time I've strayed into the Harry Potter fandom to write/read fanfiction, pretty shocking really since I've been a fan for ten years! This chapter is mostly from Hermione's point of view only because it worked better that way, I imagine the rest is going to be Ron's point of view.

1.

His room was the same, decorated in old Chudley Cannons memorabilia, chocolate frog wrappers overflowing the small bin and somehow still a mess despite the fact he hadn't been in it for the best part of the year. It was good to see some things just never changed. Because change had happened a lot recently and Hermione had decided she hated it.

She wished they could go back to those carefree days where she'd curl up on the corner of a couch in the Gryffindor common room peeking over the top of her book as she watched Harry and Ron play chess. Though things hadn't really been that carefree even back then, had they? Sometimes she even wished for those days before any of this, before Harry, before Ron, before Hogwarts and even before she found out what she was. It was a terrible thing to wish for really, she loved this new world, she loved her friends and being a witch but perhaps it would have been simpler, never to know, safer for sure.

They had come through all of this though, in the end, and things could only get better from here on. At least that was what she told herself. Once the battle had been over, the injured taken care of and the dead mourned, Harry and Hermione had gone back to The Burrow with the Weasleys. It had felt awkward. They had just lost Fred, Harry and Hermione had felt awkward, surely the family just wanted to be alone, to grieve for Fred but Mrs Weasley being Mrs Weasley had insisted that the two stay with them for a little while. Hermione had nowhere to go until she found her parents in Australia and no one wanted Harry going off to Grimmauld Place by himself.

Once back at The Burrow things had been even more awkward. Everyday there was a funeral to attend and there was never anytime to speak to Ron. When the funerals were all over Harry left for Grimmauld Place, he took Ginny with him, something Mrs. Weasley hadn't been too happy about but she was too drained to argue. Hermione felt she had outstayed her welcome too and, without Harry or Ginny for support, living at The Burrow was even more difficult. Ron wouldn't talk to her and so she had left. Left to go and find her parents in Australia. Her and Ron had talked about how she would do this often. She had always been sure he had brought it up to give her a light at the end of the tunnel, something to look forward to once the search for the horcruxes was over, he had told her he would come with her and she had wanted nothing more. Instead he wasn't talking to her and she was searching alone.

Two months had passed since then. Hermione had found her parents, she had restored their memories, they had forgiven her even if her Father was still a little angry and things were back to normal. Except they weren't. Ron still hadn't spoken to her. She hadn't made an effort to get in touch with him, no, but she had hoped perhaps he would try and contact her. She had spoken to Harry, had even stayed at Grimmauld Place with him and Ginny but nothing from Ron. It hurt. And that was why she had made the decision, no matter how hard, to go to The Burrow and demand that he at least acknowledge her.

Mrs. Weasley had greeted her as she always had with an embrace and a smile but the smile didn't reach her eyes anymore. They had all lost too much; it would take a long time to repair. Ron had been in the shower when she arrived but Mrs. Weasley had told her she could wait in his room if she wanted. Staying downstairs would have been awkward and if she was in his room he couldn't avoid her as easily.

Hermione never had been patient and couldn't have just sat there waiting for him and so instead she walked around the familiar room. One of his Chudley Cannons posters was falling down and so she reached up to fasten it back onto the wall as she did she knocked over the small wastebin and hurriedly knelt down to pick it back up. It was mostly full of screwed up paper and various sweet wrappers which she shoved back into it but one thing stood out; a small figurine. She picked it up and stood back up studying it. Hermione recognised the figurine instantly as being the one Ron had purchased at the Quidditch World Cup four years ago, it was of Viktor Krum the Bulgarian Seeker, or at least it had been but it was now missing its head. Hermione couldn't help but smile slightly at what Ron had done to it, she'd never seen his 'work' on it before but she could hazard a guess at it being something to do with Krum taking her to the Yule Ball. Ron had never been happy about that, calling Viktor a 'git' amongst other things, not that he'd ever come out and told her why he had had such a problem with her and Krum.

She set the figurine down on the chest of drawers beside her, not having the heart to throw something away that possibly proved he had been jealous of Krum. Or at least that was how she liked to think of his feelings towards the Bulgarian. After another glance around the attic bedroom she sat down on his bed, it still sunk in the middle and the springs creaked as you made contact with it and being Hermione she couldn't just leave it that way. Standing back up she took out her wand, pointed it at the bed and muttered "Reparo".

"What are you doing?"

His voice surprised her, making her jump a little as she turned around to face him. His hair was wet from the shower, a towel was flung over his shoulder and his eyes held no emotion she wanted to dwell upon. She had hoped he'd be happy to see her, she wasn't surprised at the disappointment growing inside her.

"Your Mum said I could wait up here…" she trailed off not able to meet his eyes.

"I know. I meant…" he nodded towards his bed to which she still had her wand pointed.

"Oh." Ron and Hermione had always been close, after their initial couple of months at Hogwarts. They had rarely strayed from telling each other things, from speaking their mind no matter whether it would hurt the other to hear it. A year ago Hermione would have answered him honestly, without thought, would have told him she had fixed his bed, that he really should have done it himself, the spell was simple, didn't he read anything? Now though, it seemed that they were too close. If there was such a thing? The two had been through a lot together, their relationship had gone through a lot of strain. Things had happened, words gone unspoken and now it seemed that things had been left so long that neither knew where they stood with the other and their conversations had become tense. "I was just –" she began but Ron wasn't listening. He had run the towel through his wet hair once more before throwing it across the room and making his way over to the window.

She had thought he was simply avoiding having to look at her by gazing out of the window but when he took out his wand she craned her neck a little to see what he was doing. With a quick flick he had lit a candle with his wand and put it down on the windowsill. The smell of it instantly reached her, it smelt of vanilla and spices, it reminded her of the winter.

"Is that for him?" she asked, finding it difficult to speak his name. "For Fred?"

Ron didn't look at her, just at the candle, his back to her as he spoke quietly. "And for the others. Remus. Tonks." He paused, they had lost so many loved ones. Hermione felt something in the pit of her stomach, tears fighting to escape, Ron had grown up a lot this simple gesture proved it. "Lavender."

Her breath hitched a little at that name. The two had never spoke about Lavender's death. They had hardly spoken about Lavender at all apart from in arguments; it was a sore subject between the two of them. Hermione hated herself for it but she couldn't help but feel jealous, even in death Lavender Brown had Ron's attention. It was horrible thing to think, especially when she herself had been the one who had tried to save Lavender from Greyback, but there had been a time when Hermione had envied everything about Lavender.

Despite it all though Hermione loved that Ron remembered them all. It would have been so easy for him to forget everyone else that they'd lost in the midst of losing his brother. Their relationship was fragile right now, she understood that but she needed his touch, she needed to know he was still in her life no matter how much. And so she walked over to where he stood, by the window, and wordlessly took his hand.

She didn't expect much, if anything, and so the small squeeze he gave her hand was more than she could have hoped for. The two stood in silence.


	2. Silence and Glass

A/N: This is ridiculously short but I wanted to end it here. I'll get straight to work on the next chapter.

2.

It wasn't natural for a bloke to be having so many conflicted emotions, especially not a bloke like him. Ron felt like a pregnant woman, his emotions were that up and down. And to think, Hermione had once said he had the emotional range of a teaspoon!

Hermione.

He glanced down at where their hands were still entwined and wondered how he could have been such a git. For the past five years he had danced around his feelings for her and then when there had been nothing else good in the world he had shut her out and ruined everything. Why she still had anything to do with him he had no idea. Usually her turning up here, at The Burrow, would have been a good thing but Ron couldn't help but worry that it was to tell him to stuff his friendship and stuff anything else they could ever have had. He would deserve it at least.

Almost as though she had been reading his thoughts Hermione let her hand drop from his and wordlessly walked away from him, as he continued to stare straight into the flame of the candle. Right, then, that was it. She was leaving and he wasn't about to stop her.

"Don't leave it two months next time." Her words broke through his reverie, he had no response but the "Please" that she added moments later ripped right through his heart. And then she was gone.

As she closed the door of his room behind her Hermione finally let out a sob.

Ron hated himself. He had messed things up enough and then she had come to see him, despite everything, had given him another chance and he hadn't taken it. With more aggression that he had intended Ron hit the window in front of him, smashing the thin glass.

"Argh, bloody hell!" Why had he had to do that? "Reparo" he muttered, watching the shards of glass fly back into place as he flexed his now bleeding hand.

"Ron?"

He turned around to see Hermione stood in the doorway of his room, worry writ all over her features. She glanced between him and the glass that was just sealing itself back together. "What did you-" she began crossing the room to stand in front of him, taking his bleeding hand in hers.

"Leave it." His words were a little harsher than he had intended them to be and she immediately dropped his hand looking up at him, somewhat hurt.

"I'm sorry, I'll just –" she began as she turned to leave again. This time, however, his hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Hermione, wait." His voice was quiet, not his usual confident self, he hadn't been that way with her in such a long time.

Choosing not to speak Hermione simply turned her head and looked up at him and the intensity of those deep brown eyes, the eyes he saw in his sleep, almost made him lose his words. "I'm sorry." He finally muttered, struggling to make eye contact with her. After a moment Hermione simply nodded and then left the room silently. She understood him better than anyone, even better than Harry, he was sorry, he did want to make things right again but he just needed some time.


	3. Motherly Advice

3.

Things were beginning to go back to normal at The Burrow, well, as normal as they could be. Ginny and Harry visited every weekend but that was about the only time they saw the youngest Weasley. Ron knew his Mum wasn't too happy that her daughter was living away from home, even if it was with Harry who she had loved like a son since that first summer he had spent with them. The strangest thing about the visits though had to be that Ron and Harry weren't talking.

The two of them had always been pretty much inseparable. They had had arguments, like any friends, but they had always sorted things out eventually. It was Ron's fault really. He knew it. Recently he just felt so angry, all of the time. He blamed himself for everything, for Fred's death, for Ginny moving out and for his relationship with Hermione. Ron knew that he shouldn't blame himself but it was so much easier.

"Ron, do you want to talk?" The sound of his Mother's voice pulled Ron from his thoughts. He looked up at her blankly. For the last few days Ron had started attending family meals again, though he hadn't really been joining in with any conversations. The Weasley's had just finished dinner and Ron was the last on in the kitchen, sat at the table staring at his half empty plate whilst his Mother cleaned up.

Before he had chance to answer her Molly was sitting down beside her youngest son, concern writ all over her face. When Ron made no move to speak she did instead. "Haven't seen Hermione around here lately." It was a statement but Ron knew she meant it as a question. He simply gave a shrug not wanting to talk about Hermione; it was difficult enough to get her off his mind already. "Ron." She pressed and he knew that she wasn't going to leave him alone until they had at least some semblance of a conversation.

"She's spending time with her parents." He muttered simply. In actual fact Ron had no idea what Hermione was up to. He hadn't been in contact with her since she had visited a couple weeks ago and even then he had hardly said anything to her, he certainly hadn't asked what she was up to, he hadn't even asked her whether her parents were alright, whether she had found them and reversed the charm successfully. He was such a git.

"What happened when she came to see you the other week?" Molly pressed on, she was inquisitive yes but mainly she just wanted to know what was going on in her son's life, make sure he was alright and that he wasn't messing things up. She had known for a rather long time now that there was some sort of attraction between her son and his best friend. She had worried that perhaps Ron would be too ignorant towards it that nothing would ever happen, that Hermione would find someone else. She remembered how riled he had been when he came home after his fourth year, ranting about the Quidditch player who had taken Hermione to the dance. Then in their sixth year Hermione hadn't visited during the Christmas holidays, Ginny had mentioned something about Ron having a girlfriend and Molly had put the pieces together. It seemed they were hopeless and would never work things out. Hermione was good for Ron, Molly approved, as she was sure the rest of her family did.

Ron shrugged again in response to his Mother's question. "Didn't really talk." He finally muttered after a moment. Molly knew better than to question why. When it came to talking about things like this with Ginny or even her older son Bill the best way was to just let them keep talking, keep questioning and eventually they would come to the conclusion of what needed to be done by themselves. Ron, on the other hand, was the complete opposite; he was a lot like his Father, Arthur, in that respect. He was stubborn and he would focus on the negatives rather than the positives. No matter what age he was he would always be looking for guidance from someone else and so that was what she was about to do.

"Ronald Weasley." The stern note in her voice caused Ron to look up at her, meeting his Mother's gaze, it reminded him of the howler he had received in second year. "You are going to go upstairs, clean yourself up and then you are going to go and see that girl or so help me God-"

"Alright, alright." He responded knowing better than to get on his Mother's bad side.

The look in her eyes was still stern as he pushed himself up from the table and made his way upstairs but her eyes softened as he vanished from her view. This family had had too much loss recently, she was ready to gain a daughter.

_Crack!_

The sharp sound surprised Hermione. It may have been two months since they had destroyed Voldemort but she was still wary, still on alert at all times, it was hard to believe that she could ever not be. Gripping her wand tightly she turned around and pointed it anger writ across her face.

"Ronald Weasley!" she screeched seconds later when she saw the familiar redhead stood opposite her, his eyes trained carefully on the wand she was pointing at him. She stared at him for a moment and finally he looked up, blue meeting brown. And then, after one tender moment, she was gone, straight back into the wild, ranting Hermione that he knew so well. "How dare you apparate into my home like this! You didn't even send an owl, you haven't even –"

"Hermione…" she ignored him.

"-spoke to me in weeks. I don't even know why you think I would want to see you. I don't. Want to see you that is." She looked flustered and he couldn't help the small smile that crept onto his face.

"Don't you dare grin at me, Ron!" she shouted, jabbing her wand into his chest, the smile soon vanished.

"Two months we didn't speak and then you ignore me when I come to make sure you're alright. You don't even ask how I am. How my parents are. You haven't spoken to Harry and then this!"

"Hermione, please."

"No, Ron. I'm angry."

"I can see that…"

"Don't get clever with me." She stopped ranting and finally lowered her wand after noticing how he kept glancing at it concernedly. She glared at him, her breathing heavy as it always was after she went off on one. "Why are you here?" she asked bluntly folding her arms across her chest.

"My Mum sent me –"

"Oh, your _Mum_ sent you! Honestly, Ron, how old are you!"

_Great, just when she'd calmed down she was back at it again._

"Hermione, please, can we just talk?" he asked softly, a pleading look in his eyes.

"Talk? Now you want to talk? Well what if I don't want to talk?" she asked, one eyebrow raised slightly as she challenged him.

Ron gave a small shrug, it irritated her. "Then we don't have to."

She continued to glare at him, Ron was very much aware of how she could easily hurt him with the wand she still gripped if she wanted. He needed to be careful here or when he got home George wouldn't be the only one with a body part missing.

"Fine." Ron let out a sigh of relief at her words. "But you'll have to be quick, I'm busy." And with that she crossed the room, the kitchen he now noticed, pushing past him as she went. After a moment Ron followed her and soon found himself in a living room. He soon became very aware he'd never been to Hermione's home before.

"Well?" he glanced up at her. Was it wrong that he adored that angry expression on her face?


	4. Apologies and Acceptances

4.

Hermione glared at Ron from across her parents' living room. If she hadn't been so angry she too would have taken a moment to realise that this was the first time he had been in the house. The anger, however, took over. Hermione hadn't been in the best of moods today anyway and then he had just turned up out of the blue and really sent her over the age.

Okay, so maybe there was a part of her that was happy to see him. It had been two weeks and 3 days since she had braved The Burrow, since she had last seen him and gotten nowhere. She just wished that he had bothered to tell her that he was going to come and see her, she hadn't had time to prepare herself.

_He must think I look a mess. _She thought to herself as she lifted a hand to her face and tucked her hair behind her ear, she had been busy cleaning up after making some lunch and she knew she wasn't looking her best, well, she hadn't been expecting visitors had she? In fact she had just been about to go in the shower and make herself look presentable.

_Why couldn't he have turned up a bit later?_ She wondered before deciding that maybe him appearing now had been for the best, it would have been a bit more awkward if she had been in the shower.

Realising that she had just been talking to herself and he still hadn't made an effort to speak to her she straightened herself up and glared at him, still self conscious though.

_Honestly I don't know why I care. Its just Ron._ She knew exactly why she cared.

Ron had been waiting, hoping, that if he didn't say anything then she would start a conversation. No such luck though.

_You're a coward, mate._ A voice inside his head told him and he couldn't help but agree. How many times had he stood up to Hermione? They bickered and fought nonstop, it was as though their friendship depended on it, was fuelled by it. This was different though, this wasn't Hermione this was – well, it was Hermione but as he stood across from her right now she wasn't just his friend, she was the girl he felt so much more for. The girl he really ought to tell about these feelings, after six years of beating around the bush.

"I –" he began when he saw her straighten herself up, if he didn't explain himself soon she would most likely hex him.

"You, what?" she demanded.

"We should talk." He finally managed.

"Yes, yes we should." He smiled slightly at her response, he had said something right. "That is exactly what I said two and a half months ago, Ron. And then again two weeks ago. Its about time you got it into your thick skull." His smile vanished.

At that moment, for just that moment, Ron wished they weren't friends. It would have made all this so much easier. It wasn't as if not talking to her would mean that he wouldn't tell her how he felt, that there would be no way of them ever developing their relationship. He could easily back out of all of that if he wanted but he knew that things had gone further than that now. If he didn't talk to her now, mentioning their possible growing relationship or not, he could lose her friendship too.

He heard Hermione let out a sigh and he screwed his eyes shut for a moment.

"I'm been an idiot, I know that. I've ignored you, I've been cold towards you and now I've turned up here expecting things to be fine." He finally said, his eyes trained on hers, she didn't speak, let him continue. "Hermione, I know there's no excuse for how I've behaved with you but –"

"Your brother died, Ron." Her words not only stalled his own but cut right through him. It had been two and a half months since they had lost Fred and no one had dared put it so bluntly, not until Hermione.

Ron could feel the tears trying to break through but he wasn't going to let them. He wasn't going to look weak in front of her.

"I understand that you're angry, sad, conflicted. And I wasn't expecting you to forget about him, to stop mourning him for me. I just wanted you to let me be there for you, to help you in any way that I could but instead you rejected me." She continued honestly.

"I never rejected you." Ron couldn't meet her gaze.

"It felt that way."

The two stared at each from across the room; it was so typical of them. Neither was willing to close the distance between them and so they just stared at each other in awkward silence, it was as though there was something invisible between them that always stopped them from being close.

"I'm sorry." He muttered after a moment.

"I know." And she did, he knew she did. Not only was she the brightest witch of her age but Hermione had common sense too, especially when it came to him. Ron was pretty sure that no one knew him better than she did. "Come sit down." She added after a moment with a glance towards the sofa that she stood beside.

Deciding that there was little way that things could get more awkward Ron crossed the room in a few long strides and soon found himself sat on the edge of the sofa, his eyes on the floor beneath him. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw her sit beside him and he longed to reach out and pull her to him but he didn't know how to.

He didn't need to either because a moment later Hermione had pushed away all the boundaries that had ever been between them and had placed her hand softly on his back. Wordlessly he turned into her and she wrapped her arm properly around him, pulling him in and holding him close to her.

Ron took a moment to just feel completely hopeless, to think over everything that had happened, everything he had lost and know that he was safe, safe with her. And then, after a few moments, he let out a sigh and sat up. Hermione instantly retracted her arm from him and made to move away from him on the sofa but he reached out, in the smallest of gestures, and took her hand. Their eyes met and Ron couldn't help but smile, a smile she mimicked as he ran his rough thumb over the soft expanse of her hand before threading his fingers through hers and holding on tightly.

"He wouldn't want me like this." Ron said after a while.

It took Hermione a moment to understand what he meant but when she did she nodded, "No. No, he wouldn't." She looked up from where their hands were interlaced, her smile sad. "I'm sure him and George would be mocking you right now."

"Probably." He let out a soft laugh and it broke her heart to hear him sound so defeated. "He wouldn't forgive me for the way I've been with you either." He added looking up at her once more.

Hermione furrowed her brow, unconsciously, not really understanding what he meant. "Fred he-" Ron paused, it was the first time he'd said his name since it had happened. The small squeeze of his hand told him to carry on, told him she was there for him. Ron let out a sigh, "- he used to tease me, for not knowing how to act around you."

"Around me? What do you mean?"

"Apparently it was painful to watch me dance around my feelings for y-" Ron paused, Hermione's breath caught and the two stared at each other. She was so close to him, his eyes fell to her lips, soft he remembered from that brief moment of brilliance in the midst of the battle. It had been perfect, long overdue and perfect despite everything else that had been happening. And it could happen again right now. Would she push him away? Or would she melt into him like he had dreamt so many times? There was only one way to tell. Lifting his gaze back to meets hers Ron inched closer, this was it, this was –

"Hermione?"

Ron jumped up from the sofa, his hand dropping hers. "Ron, its just my parents." She said softly, standing too. There was a faint blush to her cheeks, he noticed, as she faced him.

"I shouldn't be here."

She reached out to take his hand once more but he recoiled. "What? Of course you sh-"

_Crack!_


	5. Friends Reunited

A/N: Firstly, thanks everyone who has been reviewing, its great to hear what you think! And everyone that's been reading too! This one's a bit of a short chapter, hopefully I'll get some more up later and they might finally start to get somewhere.

5.

"Hermione?"

"In here, Mum." She called back stifling a sob. They had ruined everything. No. _He_ had ruined everything. Again.

"Traffic was a nightmare, should've been back an hour ago." Hermione gave a weak smile in her Mother's direction, not really feeling like talking.

"So what do you think about – what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing." Hermione wiped a tear from her eye but apparently it was too late, her Mother had seen.

Ron didn't know why he'd done it, why he'd just left. He supposed it was because he'd been nervous enough anyway and then her parents had come home and he had panicked. Pathetic. He hadn't even had the guts to go home, knowing his own Mother would be waiting for him hands on hips demanding to know what had happened. And so instead Ron had gone to the only other place he had been able to think of at the time.

"Kreacher, is that you I've –"

Ron forced a smile onto his face as his best friend round the corner, "Ron, what are you –" Harry paused and looked Ron over. The two of them hadn't been speaking properly in recent weeks, Harry had had numerous visits from Hermione worried about Ron and Harry had not known what to do. Ron looked rough, almost as bad as when he'd found them again in the forest, just months ago.

"I didn't –" Ron paused. _Didn't what? Know where to go? Don't be so pathetic Ron._ "I just wondered whether you were busy?" he corrected himself, standing up straighter in the hope that he would look less pathetic to his friend.

"And you couldn't send an owl?"

Ron frowned, "Well, you know Pig. By the time he got to you it'd be next week." He responded with a shrug and a halfhearted smirk. It didn't reach his eyes. Harry noticed.

Harry and Ron were useless at confrontation. Usually when the two had an argument they would just stop speaking to each other and would have to wait for either Hermione to bring them back together or something life threatening would come their way and force them back together. This time however the chances of the latter were slim, the former, well she wasn't getting through to Ron either.

As Harry watched his friend he wondered, briefly, whether it was worth forgetting how Ron had been and just acting normal. It would certainly be easier but would it work out in the long run? Harry was unsure. "You want a drink?" he asked after a moment, deciding that he would act normal until he got Ron to talk properly to him.

"No, I'm alright thanks." Ron muttered.

The two boys, no – two men, stared at each other across the dark kitchen of Grimmauld Place.

"Is my sister here?" Ron asked after a moment and Harry frowned. Even though Ron hadn't spoken the words Harry knew that he was unhappy about Harry and Ginny's relationship.

"No, she's staying at home this week. Of course you'd know that if you still spoke to her." Harry couldn't help himself.

Ron frowned, Harry was right but he still wanted to argue with him over it.

"_Why _aren't you speaking to Ginny, Ron?" Harry continued.

"Because" Ron shrugged.

"Because? What a brilliant reason." The sarcasm in Harry's voice didn't go unnoticed.

"Is it the same reason you're not talking to me?" Ron ignored him and so Harry continued. "How about Hermione? What has she done wrong?"

"She hasn't! I've just been –" Ron paused and let out a defeated sigh.

Harry was still angry at his friend but that didn't mean he didn't care about him. In the last two months it had been Harry who had had to console a broken Hermione without even knowing why Ron wouldn't have anything to do with her. "What happened?" he asked, all anger gone from his voice now. Ron needed to talk to someone and Harry was willing to be that person, for now.


	6. Harsh Words

6.

"Its like being back at school with you two!" Harry exclaimed with a laugh. He watched his redheaded friend from the opposite sofa and shook his head a little. Ron was upset about everything that had happened with Hermione, he had been nervous, things had been awkward and now he didn't know what to do. Harry really didn't feel sorry for him, in fact he found the whole situation hilarious. "Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if I'd just locked you in the Room of Requirement together until you worked things out." He laughed again at the thought, "You probably wouldn't have come out alive though, on second thoughts. You know how she can be."

"Thanks for the support here, mate." Ron groaned and Harry couldn't help but laugh. He loved his two best friends and they would work things out eventually, he was sure. From an outsider's point of view they were pathetic though. Harry remembered how things had been when the two boys had first met Hermione, he believed they had referred to her as an 'insufferable know-it-all'. Oh how things had changed. For all her intelligence Hermione really was clueless in a lot of social situations. Their friendship hadn't started off great and Harry couldn't ever remember a time where she had just hung out with people other than him and Ron. And when it came to relationships, well, Harry didn't pretend to be an expert but any idiot could see how his two best friends were meant for each other. All except the two of them that is. Honestly, how a girl so intelligent could be so blind to it all was beyond him. And as for Ron, well to be honest Harry didn't really expect much more from him.

"Oh come on, Ron. Cheer up." He said jovially. "It could've been worse, her parents could've walked in on the pair of you snogging." Ron's face turned just as red as his hair. "Well, its true." Harry added with a shrug.

"Yeah I guess." Ron muttered, his face still red. "Least I would've got a snog out of it though."

Harry couldn't help but laugh at Ron's response. That was the old Ron shining through, and it was about time.

"So what am I meant to do now?" Ron asked. Harry and Ron had never really spoken about girls before. Hermione had done most of the talking with Harry when he had been with Cho and then Ron had fallen out with him when he got with Ginny. Even though it was so obvious to Harry that Ron had liked Hermione for years he had never actually confided in Harry and when he had gotten with Lavender it was clearly to make Hermione jealous so there was very little to talk about.

Harry gave a shrug, "I have no idea." He replied truthfully. Harry had been lucky with Ginny he hadn't really had to try hard, the two of them had come to an unspoken consensus and things had just happened. "You should probably apologise."

"I feel like all I'm ever doing is apologising to her."

"Cause she's always mad at you, mate."

"Tell me about it."

The two fell silent for a moment, Ron was looking at his hands and Harry was playing with a loose thread on the sofa.

"So…" he began, "Are you going to tell me why you haven't been speaking to me and Ginny?"

The silence returned.

"Obvious, innit?" Ron shrugged.

Harry's brow furrowed, obviously it wasn't obvious.

"You and Ginny -" Ron began in way of explanation but Harry interrupted.

"You told me you were fine with me and Ginny! Happy even!"

"I am, well, it is a bit weird but yeah, I'm happy for you, mate. If it was going to be anyone I'm glad its you."

"Then what's the problem?" Harry's tone was exasperated now. He loved his best friend, he was like the brother he had never had but he hated how Ron shunning them had made Ginny feel. He wanted to know, once and for all, what the problem was.

"I guess I'm jealous." Ron muttered much to Harry's surprise.

"What?" Had he heard his best friend correctly?

"Don't make me say it again."

"Jealous? Why?" Harry didn't understand. He knew that Ron had spent his fair share of time being jealous of Harry for things like the Triwizard tournament, being the 'chosen one', when he thought Hermione had liked Harry but he had thought that they were past all of that? What could Ron possibly be jealous of now?

"You did it." Ron said with a shrug.

"Did what?" Asked Harry not sure where the conversation was going.

"You took the leap, no, you didn't even have to take any leap. Everything was just so bloody perfect for the two of you." Ron still wasn't really making any sense to Harry. "Me and Hermione we're –" he paused not really sure what he was trying to say. "I don't know what to do, how to tell her I like her –" he paused once more looking to Harry for help.

"Surely she knows?" Harry offered.

"I don't – yeah, I mean – I just feel like I need to come out and say it though." Ron shrugged. "I mean we've spent so long reading between the lines, neither of us really knowing how the other felt I just don't think we can just slip into a relationship like you two, we need something more – solid."

Even though Ron wasn't really making much sense Harry was pretty sure he understood what his friend was trying to get at.

"Then just tell her how you feel."

"I can't do that!" Harry shook his head; Ron had reached a whole new level of pathetic now. "What if she doesn't – I mean, it was the heat of the moment – we could have been dead any minute – she might not have –"

"She did." If there was one thing that Harry Potter was sure of in this world it was that Hermione Granger would not have done what she had just because she was afraid they were going to die and Ron had just happened to be there. She had kissed him because she had been waiting six years to do so, because she had finally given up waiting and had thrown all caution to the wind.

"How d –"

"The git! The absolute – I'm going to kill him. No, that won't be enough, I'm going to –" Ginny had burst into the room causing the two men to turn in both surprise and confusion as she ranted on seemingly not noticing their presence.

"Ginny what's happened?" Harry's voice seemed to break her out of her rant and she turned to him finally.

"Ron" she said simply as though it was the most obvious thing in the world and apparently she hadn't noticed the presence of her brother yet. "He's gone and messed everything up with Hermione again." She continued sitting on the armchair facing Harry. "You know how she is, doesn't let anyone see her get upset if she can help it. Well I've just had her in tears, thinking she's not good enough, that she's done something wrong; can you believe that? That _she's_ not good enough for _him_! Honestly I don't –"

_Crack!_

"What was that?" Ginny asked turned to the now empty sofa across the room.

"Ron" Harry answered with the slightest hint of a smile.


	7. Madness and Makeups

A/N: Again thanks to everyone who has been reviewing, means a lot to know what you all think. Here's what I think a lot of you have been waiting for. And its about time. Enjoy!

7.

_Crack!_

"What do –"

"You idiot! You absolute idiot!" Ron's words caught Hermione completely off guard and she stared at him incredulously across the room as she tried to understand what was going on. She had been sitting in her room reading, trying to keep her mind off of things after Ginny had left. Of course she was upset after Ron had just disappeared on her but she was angry too. She was fed up of him messing her around like this, if he didn't feel the same then why didn't he just tell her? She had waited six years for this, she had finally taken the leap and now he was treating her with no respect whatsoever. And then, to top it all off, he had just happened to appear in her room and was shouting at _her_.

He still had no idea how it worked but ever since he had returned to them in the Forest of Dean the Deluminator that Dumbledore had left to Ron had always managed to lead him right to Hermione. Apparating to her home was easy enough but somehow he always ended up in the same room as her even if he had never been there before.

When she stood up at glared at him Ron couldn't help but noticed how her eyes were red, she had been crying like Ginny had said and he hated that he had been the reason for it.

"I thought you were meant to be the smart one?" he demanded as he took a step close to her. She took a step back and it almost crushed him as he looked into her eyes and saw fear reflected in them. Fear and sadness and confusion.

_Sort yourself out, Weasley._ He told himself as he took a deep breath.

"Hermione, how could you even – I don't und –" He couldn't get his words out again, this always seemed to be a problem to him when it came to her.

"Just leave me alone, Ron." She said finally, her sad brown eyes never leaving his. "Haven't you done enough for one day?"

"What? I mean that's completely – " It was now or never. "You're bloody perfect you are." He finally spluttered. And then there was silence as he waited and she continued to glare at him. Her brow had furrowed in confusion and she folded her arms across her chest as she waited for him to continue. None of this was at all logical and if there was one thing Hermione hated it was not being able to use logic to understand a situation.

"How could you – I – seriously, Hermione! Not good enough?" She was still glaring at him and then before he could completely registered what had happened, what he'd done he was kissing her. She hesitated for a moment but then she was kissing him back and everything was perfect, everything was going to be fine and then she pulled away and hit him in the chest.

"What? What have I done now?" For a moment he worried he'd done the completely wrong thing, that she didn't feel the same but then why would she have kissed him back?

"You can't just –" She looked annoyed and Ron couldn't help glancing around to make sure she wasn't near her wand. "We can't just –" She was getting annoyed at herself now, he could tell. "Things aren't that simple, Ron."

He remained silent but offered the smallest of smiles. Things weren't simple but they had gone through so much that he just wanted things to be easy, for them to be happy.

"And I'm not perfect." She muttered avoiding his gaze.

"You are to me."

She glanced at him and he could've sworn he saw the slightest hint of a smile before she was busying herself with the corner of the book she had been reading.

"Hermione." When she didn't respond he continued. "Look I'm rubbish at knowing the right thing to say, you know that, and I know how I've treated you, how I've treated everyone, over the last few months has been horrible but I am sorry. I don't really know how I can make things better and I understand if you're mad at me and if I need to give it some time but – " He took a deep breath, "I just, I need you to know that you mean so much to me."

Ron noticed how her body tensed a little but she made no other move to show she had heard him and so he simply continued.

"Bloody hell, Hermione." He said exasperatedly, "I like you alright!" She finally turned around, her expression unreadable as she watched her best friend stumble over his words, trying to get a response from her. "I mean _like,_ like you." She couldn't help the small smile that reached her lips out of amusement at him struggling. "I mean, I fancy you." He paused. "No, no I don't." Her smile vanished momentarily. "I mean, I do, of course I do but I don't just – I mean, more than that –"

"Please, Ron, just shut up before you make things worse." She finally spoke up, the smile back on her face and laughter in her eyes. She had imagined Ron admitting to feeling something for her many times before and all those times it had been much more eloquent, more simple, more romantic but somehow – somehow, this was perfect.

Before he had chance to saying anything more she had flung her arms around his neck and was hugging him tightly, breathing in the scent of him with a feeling of elation spreading throughout her body, a feeling she hadn't felt in such a long time.

"You're not mad at me then?" he asked as he wrapped his own arms around her and buried his head in the crook of her neck.

"I'm always mad at you." She muttered lifting her head up to look at him. She couldn't help but laugh at the fresh look of worry that had crossed over his face. "Ron, the way you make me feel – it scares me, its wonderful but it scares me and there's no book that can tell me how I should act. Of course I'm mad at you. I'm mad at you and about you." She explained before reaching up to capture his lips with hers once more in soft and brief kiss.

Ron smirked down at her, "Brilliant." He whispered. "Bloody brilliant. Don't ever let me complain about you being mad at me again."


End file.
